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Memorable fall seasons; alum hoops, spikers set

Open field

Sonoma Valley High School’s fall sports wraps up this week with the SCL girls’ tennis-champion doubles team of juniors Michelle Stovall and Stephanie Brett – an exchange student from Germany – and Sonoma’s cross country teams competing in North Coast Section events.

While the fall Dragons continue in girls’ tennis and cross country, Sonoma’s football and volleyball teams were eliminated from the postseason over the weekend.

For the Dragon gridders, their one-sided North Coast Section opening-round Friday night loss to powerful Cardinal Newman marked not only the end of an upbeat season that saw them finish with an overall 7-4 record and 5-1 Sonoma County League second-place mark, but it completed a major chapter in school history.

Sonoma’s head varsity football coach Mick O’Meara and defensive coordinator Mike Mulas have retired after directing the Dragons for 29 years.

While the NCS loss to Newman would be their official final game, it was the Dragons’ stirring 17-14 regular-season ending come-from-behind victory over one of Sonoma’s longest SCL rivals, Petaluma, that will be the true lasting memory to a pair of incredible coaching careers.

As for the Lady Dragon spikers, their thrilling, but heartbreaking, NCS quarterfinal loss to Novato on Saturday night in Pfeiffer Gym was the end of an outstanding season that included their second-straight SCL regular-season and postseason tournament titles.

But, with only two seniors, the sadness of the season-ending NCS loss won’t last long, because Sonoma volleyball will be strong for at least a couple more years with so many standout younger players returning.

Included in that group of young Lady Dragon spikers who’ll take the court in 2013 are SCL MVP sophomore Mackenzie Albrecht and two-time SCL first-teamer sophomore Delaney Swanson.

Now that’s a bright future.

•••

With the end of Sonoma’s fall sports comes the arrival of the winter Dragons.

The 2012-13 winter sports basketball and wrestling programs began their workout sessions last week and the Lady Dragons start hooping it up with scrimmages against San Marin in Pfeiffer Gym this Thursday evening, Nov. 15, followed by the annual preseason Justin-Siena Scramble in Napa on Saturday, Nov. 17.

Sonoma’s girl cagers will then host nonleague Cardinal Newman in the annual Foundation Game next Tuesday night, Nov. 20.

On Wednesday, Nov. 21, the third annual Lady Dragons volleyball and basketball alumnae match and game doubleheader takes place in Pfeiffer Gym, with the spikers starting at 6:30, and the cagers playing at 8 p.m.

Any Lady Dragon alumna interested in playing volleyball can contact Sonoma head volleyball coach Mindy Neves at 548-4776 or email at sonomavalleyball@gmail.com, while Sonoma’s hoops alumnae can contact Sheila Brady at 287-9571 or email at SheilaABrady@yahoo.com.

The basketball Lady Dragons hit the road to open their regular season on Saturday, Nov. 24, at nonleague Novato.

Ciao!